Road tobogganing

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Road tobogganing

The term Streetluge or street tobogganing describes a gravitational extreme sport in which the driver drives down asphalt roads on a heavily modified, often self-made, sled lying on at least 4 skateboard wheels.

Road tobogganing has in common with luge on snow the posture, steering by shifting weight, braking with appropriately protected heels and hands as well as high achievable speed. The driver lies with his back on the device, which is built as low as possible, and extends his legs up to the toes in the direction of travel. He holds his hands close to his hips on stiles. The head is raised slightly to get a view of the street just over the belly side of the body.

In addition to body position, the World Speed ​​Gravity Association (WGSA) regulates the wearing of closed protective clothing made of leather or kevlar, shoes, gloves and a helmet that requires a visor that extends over the chin. Aerodynamic clothing may be worn over protective clothing. Furthermore, the following applies in general: You steer with leaning out, the chassis is stable and has no braking devices, nothing should protrude / up between the legs.

A Street Luge (boomed & boomless) rolls on at least 4 (common: 6 or 8) lean-steered wheels (typically: skateboard axles with 2 rollers) with a maximum diameter of 130 mm. Vehicle length 120 to 243 cm, width max. 61 cm, weight max. 25 kg. No aerodynamic attachments. A tub-shaped lying surface is typical.

In the Luge Streamliner class , fairings are allowed, a length of 366 cm, any size wheel diameter.

A Classic Luge is essentially a skateboard, it can only be half as wide (305 mm) and consist of a simple deck and only have exactly 4 wheels.

A position of the driver as low as possible results in tipping safety in the event of lateral acceleration.

With this gravity-driven form of movement, on September 29, 2008 in Les Éboulements (French: demolition of terrain, landslide), Quebec , Canada on a steep slope on the Route du Port with a straight Cédric Touchette about 1 km long, the Guinness record speed of 157, 41 km / h reached.

According to the WGSA, no other rolling gravity machine has reached such a high speed.

With David Dean ("world champion 2005 and 2014") at Ohio State University the aerodynamics of the road toboggan is being honed. Still no Eisrodler (ice luger) ever 100 mph (160.0 km / h) is reached (as of 2015). When speed skiing on a 1 km long snow runway, however, 255 km / h were achieved in 2016.

history

Streetluge originated in Southern California than some Downhill - Longboarder realized that they could achieve higher speeds when they put on their boards. Today this form of downhill is known as buttboarding or "Classic Luge".

The first professional race was held in Signal Hill , California in 1975 by the US Skateboard Association. The boards varied from normal skateboards to nested racing soapboxes that completely enclosed the rider with plastic or fiberglass . The winner was determined by the top speed.

At that time the term “Street Luge” was not yet born, but Luge ( luge ) was the first to describe the driving position of some drivers. Most of the participants in this event rode standing. A loophole in the rules allowed the riders to choose their riding position and thus to lie on their boards. Repeated injuries to drivers and spectators eventually ended the races at Signal Hill.

Several of the Signal Hill riders kept the sport alive by running more races in Southern California. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, races continued to be held in California through organizations such as the Underground Racers Association (URA), Federation of International Gravity Racing (FIGR), and Road Racers Association for International Luge (RAIL). The organizers in the 1980s and 1990s introduced a lot of additional equipment, safety, and racing rules.

Meanwhile, in the early 1990s, some Austrian skateboarders began to sit on their skateboards on their way back from skiing lessons in the Alps . This spread and ultimately led to a Classic Style Street Luge race in Austria. Boards were ridden on an enlarged skateboard rather than a streetluge, which are usually larger, heavier and equipped with more axles and wheels. There is now a healthy streetluge community in many European countries.

Streetluge was introduced to the world through ESPN's X Games in the mid-1990s , originally sponsored by RAIL, then by the International Gravity Sports Association ( IGSA ). NBC followed ESPN's idea and launched the Gravity Games , where the sport was promoted by Extreme Downhill International (EDI). Smaller events now also appeared in Canada, South Africa, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and England. The qualification criteria were different from event to event and depended on the respective organizer.

After a media boom in the late 1990s and early 2000, extreme sports such as Streetluge lost their media value. Streetluge lost many important events because the sponsors stayed away. These included the American X Games, Gravity Games , Australian Xtreme Games and ultimately even the basic event Hot Heels in Austria.

Streetluge's presence on the internet was also dwindling. Once big sites and communities that connected and held drivers together, such as Streetluge.com, Streetluge.net (formerly LLLV.com) and Lugeaustralia.com, are in decline. It seems that Streetluge has since disappeared from the public eye.

Equipment, safety and racing

Street luge board

Streetluge drivers ride lying on their backs. The appearance of this lug was based on the rules of various governing organizations.

Constant elements were:

  • 2, 3 or 4 axles that steer by shifting your weight, like a skateboard
  • The ban on mechanical brakes
  • Front and rear bumpers
  • Length, width and height limits (depending on the organizer)
  • A ban on parts that could enclose the driver or prevent him from braking.

Current Streetluge sleds are made from a wide variety of materials. These are steel , aluminum , wood and carbon . Most of the sleds in the world are self-made, but commercial models are now also available. The appearance of the sled can vary a lot, as the rules for making a sled are kept very open.

Drivers who want to take part in organized races must wear the following safety equipment:

  • Hard shell helmet with chin protection and visor or protective goggles
  • Leather or kevlar suit
  • Leather or kevlar gloves
  • Brake shoes

Usually such races are held on mountain and mountain passes, but sometimes also in cities. The length of the route can be between 1 and 5 km and differ in type (number and radius of curves).

The races are carried out in the following forms:

  • Easy retirement with 2, 4 or 6 drivers at the same time
  • Double elimination with 2, 4 or 6 drivers at the same time
  • Time trials
  • Points system (points for different positions after several trips)
  • Mass start, with up to 20 drivers at the same time (the positions are determined by the order at the finish)

Umbrella organizations

Streetluge is currently run by several associations around the world. Each of these associations has its own set of rules, although the associations are quite similar.

  • IGSA (International Gravity Sports Association) is based in Southern California and organizes events around the world. The IGSA was the governing body for the X Games from 1997 to 2001.
  • GSI (Gravity Sports International) is based in Loudon New Hampshire and regulates races on the east coast of the USA. They include several new racing classes such as beginner, amateur and junior.

Web links

Books and videos

  • Darren Lott: Street Luge Survival Guide (1st ed.) Gravity Publishing, Irvine, Calif. 1998 ISBN 0-9662563-7-9
  • John Nichols: Street Luge Austin, Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2002 ISBN 0-7398-4692-2

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://wgsa.weebly.com/streetluge--streamliner--classic-luge.html WGSA Street Luge Rules & Regulations. (English) Retrieved December 17, 2015
  2. ↑ Streetluge - 157.41km / h world speed record, g3longboard, youtube video (1:33) October 2, 2008, last accessed December 17, 2015. (French) - TV Direct broadcast, September 30, 2008.
  3. ↑ https://engineering.osu.edu/news/2015/07/100-mph-aspirations 100 mph aspirations: Street luge world champ David Dean turns to Buckeye engineers, July 21, 2015, retrieved December 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ gravitygames.com ( Memento from March 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )